WE SHALL BE CHANGED
1 Corinthians 15:51-58 (KJV)
Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
Most people don’t care for change.
There are a lot of reasons for that.
Comfort
Even if our current circumstances are not the best, we are used to them.
Effort
Change requires work, effort, thought, planning. It might require money or another kind of sacrifice.
Fear
I have read that, when our founding fathers first began talking about independence from England, the smaller Christian groups, Baptists included, opposed it.
Their reason was because they feared whatever sort of government might come out of independence might be more tyrannical than England was.
England was no friend of religious liberty, but her principle governance was a whole sea away. Who knew what sort of persecution might come from a new form of government and that right here on top of them?
They feared change.[1]
Truth be told, change happens:
· Whether we want it to or not
· Whether we are part of the change or not
· Whether we prepare for it or not
· Whether we lobby against it or not
I am
· By nature,
· By instruction, and
· By biblical conviction
a conservative.
Jeremiah 6:16 (KJV)
Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
I have a conviction against unnecessary change.
· I don’t like changes proposed to our country’s Constitution
· I don’t like the change I am witnessing among Independent Baptists
· I for sure don’t like the change that is happening to my body as I grow older
One of the most reassuring things in my world right now is God’s promise,
Malachi 3:6a (KJV)
For I am the LORD, I change not; …
Hebrews 13:8 (KJV)
Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
But I would like to point out to you that, while I don’t care for unnecessary change, some change is necessary.
The Bible says that when Jesus comes for us, “we shall all be changed.”
This is a promise.
No exceptions, no exclusions.
Every Christian –
· All those who are alive when Jesus comes and even
· All those who have died before Jesus comes
We shall all be changed.
I. A CHANGE OF LOCATION
From earth to heaven
1 Corinthians 15:45-49 (KJV)
And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven.
As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
In 2 Corinthians 5:1 (KJV) we read,
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
This may not be news to you, but I want to say it anyway, your house is falling apart!
· As much as you maintain it
· As much as you fix it up
· As much as you paint it, and prep it and prissy it up
Your house is falling down around you.
I know you love your house.
You’ve never lived anywhere else, and for that matter, you’ve never wanted to live anywhere else.
But your house is falling down.
· It’s crumbling
· It’s decaying, the Bible says
· It’s dissolving
And you won’t be able to stay in it much longer.
Did you ever hear that old Stuart Hamblin song, This Old House?[2]
This old house once knew my children
This old house once knew my wife
This old house was home and shelter as we fought the storms of life
This old house once rang with laughter
This old house heard many shouts
Now she trembles in the darkness when the lightnin' walks about
This old house is getting shaky
This old house is getting old
This old house lets in the rain and
This old house lets in the cold
On my knees I'm getting chilly
But I feel no fear or pain
'Cause I see an angel peeking through A broken window pane
Ain't gonna need this house no longer
Ain't gonna need this house no more
Ain't got time to fix the shingles
Ain't got time to fix the floor
Ain't got time to oil the hinges
Nor to mend the window pane
Nor to mend the window pane
Ain't gonna need this house no longer
I'm getting ready to meet the saints
Your house is falling down – but the good news is, all of you are moving to a mansion.[3]
Heaven
2 Corinthians 12:2-4 (KJV)
I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
We shall all be changed.
From corruption to incorruption
1 Corinthians 15:52 (KJV)
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Imagine if you can.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
The trumpet sounds and – just that quick, we shall be changed.
James 1:14-15 (KJV) says,
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
1Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall be changed.
· All of the temptation
· All of the lust
· All of the enticement
· All of the sin
· All of the corruption
gone!
The Apostle Paul tells us
Galatians 5:17 (KJV)
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
He described his own battle between the flesh and the Spirit in Romans 7:19 (KJV)
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
And in
Romans 7:23 (KJV)
But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
The struggle was so real, so painful that he said
Romans 7:24 (KJV)
O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
The answer is found most completely when Jesus comes, and we shall be changed.
We shall all be changed.
From mortal to immortal
1 Corinthians 15:53-57 (KJV)
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 9:27 (KJV) says,
“.. it is appointed unto men once to die, ..”
This week one of my great uncles passed away.
He was the last of nine children all raised and lived their whole lives just a few miles south of here.
· My grandmother
· Her sisters and
· Her brothers
One by one – picked off by death.
Most of them lived into their 80’s – some of them into their 90’s.
· They raised children,
· Worked successful jobs,
· Lived happy lives
I hate it that they are gone.
But 1 Corinthians 15:54 says that there is coming a day when death is swallowed up in victory.
Revelation 21:4 (KJV)
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
“There[6]is coming a day when no heartaches shall come
No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye.
All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore.
What a day, glorious day that will be!
There'll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear,
No more sick-ness, no pain, no more parting over there.
And forever I will be with the One who died for me.
What a day, glorious day that will be!
All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore.
What a day, glorious day that will be!
There'll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear,
No more sick-ness, no pain, no more parting over there.
And forever I will be with the One who died for me.
What a day, glorious day that will be!
What a day that will be when my Je-sus I shall see,
And I look up-on His face the One who saved me by His grace.
When He takes me by the hand and leads me thro' the Promised Land;
What a day, glorious day that will be!
And I look up-on His face the One who saved me by His grace.
When He takes me by the hand and leads me thro' the Promised Land;
What a day, glorious day that will be!
We shall be changed.
Conclusion
1 Corinthians 15:51 says, “we shall all be changed”but
1 Corinthians 15:52 says, “we shall be changed”
We shall all be changed
All, always means all.
But in this case the all does have a provision.
The all means all Christians.
· All those Christians living with Jesus comes again and
· All those Christians who have died before Jesus comes again
But all does not mean those who are not Christians.
When Jesus comes again
Only those who are asleep in Christ will be resurrected to new bodies and new life.
When Jesus comes again
Only those who have placed their faith in Christ will be lifted off of this earth to live forever with Christ in heaven.
When Jesus comes again
Only those who have committed themselves to His safe keeping will go to live where there is“…no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain…”
When Jesus comes again,
All of us who are born again will be changed, but no one else.
Which begs the question,
What has changed in yourlife and heart right now that leads you to believe that, when Jesus comes again, you will be changed?
[1]It remains to be seen whether they were right. Though its been over 240 years, religious liberties are being stripped from us and this continent might display a sort of hatred for and persecution of believers unheard of heretofore.
[2]https://www.letssingit.com/bill-and-gloria-gaither-and-their-homecoming-friends-feat.-george-younce-lyrics-this-old-house-mb6k6pq
LetsSingIt - The Internet Lyrics Database
LetsSingIt - The Internet Lyrics Database
[3]John 14:2-3 (KJV)
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
[4]As in nature or character
[5]As in situation or standing
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